


Heavy is the Crown

by cc tinslebee (Doitlikeagreaser)



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018), Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Carnival, Dork Ishimaru Kiyotaka, Dork Owada Mondo, Episode: p03e03: Chapter Twenty-Three: Heavy Is the Crown, F/M, Ferris Wheels, First Kiss, Gen, Inspired by Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, M/M, Male Pronouns for Fujisaki Chihiro, Owada Mondo Is Trying His Best, Romantic Friendship, Unresolved Romantic Tension, as far as YOU know, but when is he not--, but!! you can interpret this as either crossdressing or trans boy Chihiro!!, the only thing better than friends to lovers is friends who are ALSO lovers :)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:54:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26470681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doitlikeagreaser/pseuds/cc%20tinslebee
Summary: A peculiar carnival has set up shop right next to Hope's Peak Academy, attracting a large chunk of the student body with the promise of a fun night out. Among which, the Ultimate Programmer and Ultimate Biker Gang Leader join their friend group in enjoying some of the attractions.Even prodigies have to have a little fun now and then.(Please see the notes for a few disclaimers! It's not totally necessary, I just wanted to clear up some of my writing choices!)
Relationships: Celestia Ludenberg/Togami Byakuya (if you squint), Fujisaki Chihiro & Ishimaru Kiyotaka & Owada Mondo, Fujisaki Chihiro & Kuwata Leon & Oowada Mondo, Fujisaki Chihiro/Oowada Mondo, Ishimaru Kiyotaka & Kirigiri Kyoko, Ishimaru Kiyotaka & Naegi Makoto, Kirigiri Kyoko/Naegi Makoto, Kuwata Leon/Maizono Sayaka
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	Heavy is the Crown

**Author's Note:**

> A few disclaimers about the fic to clear up some potential confusion:  
> \- So, Chihiro's gender is really controversial, and while I enjoy both interpretations, I acknowledge that I have to choose a side in my own writing. Therefore, I like the idea of a moderator that has the best of both sides of the argument. I think trans boy Chihiro really embodies not only the trans argument about insecurity being a prevalent concept in trans stories, but also the canon argument that many boys -- especially in Asian countries -- experience societal and even familial pressure to be masculine. Of course, I never explicitly mention anything about Chihiro being trans in this, so it's really up to interpretation!  
> \- As an add-on to that, I would like to clarify that I, myself, am not entirely educated on the proper usage of titles such as "kun," "chan," and "san," so I have opted out of using them. It is not my intention to "Westernised" these characters, but I don't want to be disrespectful by using words and phrases that I do not understand completely.  
> \- If it seems like the characters are a bit ooc, it's probably because typically in Anime, personalities tend to be really exaggerated, and I wanted this to be a little more natural, and I also didn't want to be disrespectful by putting these characters into "boxes," since they're all pretty complex.
> 
> That's all for now, thank you so much!

Hope's Peak Academy was far from your typical high school; if you were fortunate enough to get in, you would be guaranteed success in life. On the other hand, they only accepted the best of the best into ranks and every year, a new group of Freshman brought promise to the prestigious school.

In all honesty, the staff at Hope's Peak were shocked to see a carnival set up shop in their very own backyard. They whispered to each other about whether or not they had a permit to do so among other things, but ultimately, the headmaster allowed it. After all, their students may have been prodigies, but they were still children. Kids deserve to have fun and let loose every once in a while, he said.  
Naturally, many students were excited at the prospect. It wasn't very often that a carnival parked itself right next to your school. The carnival was practically an instant success, even attracting the attention of a group of rather interesting sophomores.

It was a nice carnival by all accounts. The Ferris wheel and a few other rides stood prominently above the side stalls and games. Food stands were just passed the entrance where a presumably animatronic, white and black bear perched on a box, welcoming guests. His high voice rang out to the potential patrons who are just outside of the carnival:

_"Welcome to Dr. Monokuma's Traveling Carnival and Phantasmagoria!"_

Two of the academy's students, Naegi Makoto and Ishimaru Kiyotaka walked out of the carnival, carrying a few corn dogs and funnel cakes over to a bench where their friends, Kirigiri Kyoko, Fujisaki Chihiro, and Owada Mondo are waiting. They stood up once they got closer.

Makoto offered one of the corn dogs to Kyoko, who took it graciously. "Thank you."

Mondo and Chihiro nodded to Kiyotaka in thanks when he handed them a corn dog and a funnel cake respectively.

 _"Step right up!"_ the bear sang again as people passed him on their way inside. _"To quote a friend, 'We have been waiting! Waiting so very long for peasants like_ _you to appear! If you swear your fealty to us, we will reward you with half of_ _the entire world! We've even drawn up the deed already! We will grant you honour,_  
_status, and some of our home cooking!'"_

Kyoko turned her head and eyed the animatronic suspiciously upon hearing those words. The promise of it all seemed to fit with what a carnival might advertise, but the wording of it seemed all wrong to her in a way she couldn't quite put her finger on.

 _"'Have you made your choice?'"_ the bear continued to monologue, and Kyoko swears that he too has directed his attention towards _her. "'Will you serve under us?'"_

Out of nowhere, Makoto put a hand on Kyoko's shoulder, tearing her away from her fixation.

"Are you okay?" he asked, eyes filled with distinguishable worry.

"I'm fine," she nodded, smiling softly to him in appreciation.

He didn't seem to buy it, but hesitantly, he did not press further.

Chihiro was just admiring the contrast of the carnival next to the school when he noticed an approaching couple. Excitedly, he suddenly pointed behind them, "Oh, there they are! Leon!" he called out, waving as Mondo followed his gaze.

Everyone in that little group knew each other one way or another, even if they didn't realise it. They're all in the same class at Hope's Peak, but some of them were closer than others. Leon had been close friends with Chihiro, Mondo, and Kiyotaka for a while now, whereas his date was only familiar with a few members of their little friend group and was meeting some of them for the first time.

Leon, arms locked with Sayaka, jogged over to meet his friends. "Hey, guys! Sorry we're late," he grinned sheepishly.

"You're right on time! Makoto's about to inhale his third funnel cake," Chihiro beamed, his mouth partially stuffed with his own funnel cake.

Mondo and Kyoko chuckled slightly at that.

Sayaka smiled politely at Chihiro before shifting her attention to the boy by his side. "You must be Mondo. I'm Sayaka, Leon's girlfriend."

Mondo extended his hand to Sayaka, who shakes it firmly.

"It's nice to meet you," Mondo smiled friendly, nodding his head in approval.

"Hey, Kuwata," Makoto piped up, almost anxiously. "How's it going?"

"Fine, Naegi," Leon practically snapped back. "How's it going with you?"

Makoto winced slightly at Leon's defensive tone. When they all first came to Hope's Peak, Makoto hung out with Sayaka most of the time after realising that they both went to the same middle school. They had grown close after a while and Makoto grew a little bit of a crush on her, assuming the feeling was mutual though he never made any attempts to hit on her or anything. Sayaka knew, though, and the two eventually drifted apart after the realisation that they weren't on the same page.

When Leon started dating Sayaka, it had seemed as though he had gotten the impression that Makoto _had_ done something and was therefore to blame for the split.

Makoto wasn't so sure that Sayaka ever told him that was wrong. "Dude, relax, it was just a question," Makoto replied, good-naturedly, but clearly growing more anxious.

"I am relaxed," Leon glared defensively.

Kiyotaka suddenly clapped his hands, eager to diffuse the situation quickly. "Okay! Shall we go in?"

"Great idea," Kyoko nodded, just as eager to break that up. "Let's see what rides they have."

_"Rides!"_

Caught off guard by the sudden intrusion of their conversation, Kyoko quickly turned around, putting a protective arm in front of her boyfriend, who was just trying to enjoy his funnel cake at that point. Chihiro was a little more surprised, jumping slightly at the scare and putting a hand to his chest as he sighed in a  
sort of relief. Mondo carefully took Chihiro's arm as he and Kiyotaka both cautiously backed up slightly.

They were all surprised to see the animatronic bear standing directly behind them.

 _"Oh my, yes! A_ gamut _of them!"_ the bear -- presumably Monokuma -- chirped. _"Bumper cars, a tilt-a-whirl, a haunted house!"_

As the bear went on, Kyoko gradually hooked arms with Makoto while Leon casually put his arm around Sayaka. Chihiro and Kiyotaka listen to Monokuma interestedly, though Mondo sort of rolled his eyes at the bear in between the attentive young men. The group murmured some affirmations; Monokuma bowed as they gradually entered the carnival in their own pairs.

Chihiro looked up at Mondo brightly. Arms hooked with each other and Kiyotaka, they made their way into the carnival, with Kyoko and Makoto right behind them.

"That was weird," Kyoko commented once they had made it past Monokuma and into the carnival.

Makoto snorted, "I know."

Kyoko laughed and nudged her boyfriend lovingly.

* * *

Chihiro, Mondo, and Kiyotaka wandered around the carnival for a while. The fun-filled screams of those on the roller coaster and other rides were much more prominent inside the carnival than they were just outside of it, and the sweet and salty smells of cotton candy and popcorn mixed in the air were a lot stronger, though none of them were quite able to detect where it was coming from.

Eventually, the trio came across a Test of Strength game that quickly peaked Kiyotaka's interests. He excitedly traded some of the tickets they had purchased with the game's supervisor in exchange for the mallet. Approaching the carnival game with the classically determined Ishimaru look in his eyes, he brought the mallet up at an appropriate angle above his shoulder before bringing it down.

Chihiro and Mondo cheered supportively for him when the swing earned Kiyotaka a decently high score.

"You did great, Taka!" Chihiro clapped his hands cheerily.

"Thank you, Chihiro," Kiyotaka smiled, a glimmer of pride in his eyes at the compliment. He wiped his brow with the back of one hand before holding the mallet out to Mondo with the other. "Do you want to give it a go, bro?"

Mondo smiled, "Nah, I'm good. That was really impressive though, bro."

Kiyotaka beamed even more and nodded understandingly, handing the mallet back to the carnival employee and thanking them.

Any of their other classmates would think that the carnival game was right up Mondo's alley, yet another opportunity to prove just how strong he really was. But Kiyotaka and Chihiro knew better. They both knew how competitive he could get, almost to the point of pushing himself too far. Ever since the three of them   
started hanging out, they've all been evening each other out, whether it be getting Kiyotaka to loosen up once in a while or making sure Chihiro doesn't stay up too long programming. Mondo's side of that was trying to see the strength in others without viewing it as a threat to his own. Chihiro and Kiyotaka were the   
strongest people he knew, and more than that, they respected his journey and allowed him the time and patience he needed.

When Kiyotaka returned to their side, Chihiro elbowed him gently.

"That popcorn smell has been driving me _crazy,"_ Chihiro joked.

Mondo could hardly blamed him; it seemed like it was getting stronger by the second.

Kiyotaka, on the other hand, issued the joke as a challenge. "Then let's go find the source!" he proclaimed.

They were just about to do so when a familiar blur zoomed past them.

"Yo, Hiro!" Mondo called, stopping their classmate in his tracks. "Where're you running off to?"

"They have a fortune teller here!" Yasuhiro exclaimed, excitedly.

"Aren't you... the Ultimate Clairvoyant?" Chihiro pointed out, his face scrunching in amused confusion.

"Yeah, that's why I gotta go see them!"

"What, are you gonna out-palm read them or something?" Mondo mused, half-jokingly.

"Hell yeah, man!" Yasuhiro grinned.

"Oh my god," Chihiro whispered softly.

"Is that really the best idea...?" Kiyotaka questioned, bashfully.

"Of course!" Yasuhiro replied, confidently. "I'm supposed to be one of the best clairvoyants out there, right?

What better way to prove my status than going up against a real life fortune teller!"

Kiyotaka cautiously leaned towards Chihiro, "He does realise that most carnival fortune tellers are fake, right...?"

"I don't think he does," Chihiro whispered back.

Mondo snorted, overhearing their hushed voices. "Well, good luck with that, man," he grinned anyway and gave Yasuhiro a thumbs up.

Even Kiyotaka and Chihiro smiled confidently at him.

"Yeah!"

"You could out-do any of those people any day!"

Yasuhiro lit up. "Thanks, guys! You're the best!" he exclaimed before running off again.

Once Yasuhiro was out of sight, Mondo turned back to the other two. "You think he'll make it?"

"I don't see why not," Chihiro offered. "His accuracy is... still pretty bad, but I'm sure he could beat any phony fortune teller at their own game anytime."

"That's what I'm saying!"

The trio continued to walk around the carnival, getting their popcorn and enjoying a variety of other attractions. They passingly spot a few of their classmates, including Aoi and Sakura, as well as some students from other classes that they were friendly with. Mondo even swears on his beloved dog that he saw Celestia and Byakuya together, though Kiyotaka didn't seem to believe him.

"What would Celeste and Byakuya be doing here together?" Kiyotaka argued.

Chihiro couldn't help but agree. "They're both so bourgeois, they wouldn't be caught dead at a carnival like this, Mondo."

It had seemed as though Makoto's luck had rubbed off on him though, because not a moment later, Mondo pointed over to an attraction, where Kiyotaka and Chihiro both saw for themselves that he was telling the truth. Sitting in one of the 'teacups' in the Spinning Tea Cup ride, were Byakuya and Celestia; though   
Byakuya did _not_ seem amused, it appeared as though the two were chatting pleasantly while others on the ride were spinning themselves at full speed.

"Well I'll be..." Kiyotaka muttered, genuinely surprised.

Chihiro giggled upon seeing the smug look on Mondo's face at being right this time, before he cursed once he remembered that he owed money to Sakura now.

* * *

After a while, the afternoon sun almost completely set in the distance, only leaving a fragment of natural sunlight left before the lights of the carnival were all that was left to illuminate the area.

"Do you want to head back to the dorms now, Taka?" Chihiro asked. "It's getting pretty late."

"No need to worry, Chihiro, I'm quite alright!" Kiyotaka beamed, seemingly not tired in the slightest. "It's the weekend, therefore we don't have to return to the dorms for another couple of hours. Besides, we have to find Kyoko and Makoto!"

"That's right, too," Chihiro nodded. 

Kiyotaka was nothing if not a man of his words, and that stood true even now. 

He and Kyoko has this sort of tradition -- though, it was more of a deal, knowing these two -- to do any mirror maze they came across. While neither of them really seemed to be the type of people who would be into that sort of thing, they took it _very_ seriously. It was a challenge, a puzzle, and those were both things Kyoko and Kiyotaka prided themselves on confronting and solving.

Makoto used to join them, but ended up stopping after one too many bloody noses from running into the mirrors. After that, the ironically named 'ultimate lucky student' made it a point to wait for them outside the exit and keep a secret record of who made it out first. (It was always one point away from being a tie,  
but Kyoko was currently in the lead.)

Mondo nodded forward, "Speak of the devil."

Chihiro and Kiyotaka turned their heads to see Makoto and Kyoko running towards them.

"Taka! We found it!" Makoto yelled excitedly as he came to a halt.

Kiyotaka's eyes practically lit up in the night, "Really? Where is it?"

"It's just past the Balloon and Darts," Kyoko replied, as stoic as ever, but a small, distinct smile was on her face.

"We _have_ to go there then!" Kiyotaka grinned in determination, before turning back to Chihiro and Mondo. "Do you want to come along?"

Mondo and Chihiro exchanged a brief look before Mondo responded with a grin.

"Thanks, bro, but I think we'll stick back a little. We'll meet up with you there, alright?"

"Alright! I'll see you then!" Kiyotaka nodded, and the two best friends bumped fists.

"Now go enjoy your maze," Mondo grinned, nodding forward.

"Have fun and stay out of trouble!" Kiyotaka instructed before he and Kyoko practically dashed away, leaving Makoto to wave awkwardly before running after them.

"Not a chance!" Mondo laughed wholeheartedly.

Chihiro smiled softly, knowing all two well that Mondo didn't actually mean it. He was always trying to be a wise-guy when it came to Kiyotaka, and that was the beauty of their friendship.

It was easy for Chihiro to quickly get distracted by the carnival lights around them, incredibly bright and colourful against the now pitch black darkness of the night sky. Right in front of them was a decently sized Ferris wheel amongst other lit up attractions. The lights from those made it all the more beautiful.

"What should we do now?" Chihiro inquired, still a little awestruck at the scene.

Mondo scanned the area around them briefly before setting his sights on the attraction in front of them. "How about the Ferris wheel?"  
Chihiro blinked, taken aback at the suggestion. It didn't seem like one Mondo would typically make. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, why not? Might be fun," Mondo shrugged, before casually adding, "You'd also probably get a better view of all the lights and stuff."

 _Ah, so that was it._ Chihiro couldn't help the smile that tugged on the corners of his mouth at Mondo's consideration.

"Yeah," Chihiro nodded, fully beaming now. "Let's do it then."

* * *

The carnival music hummed, growing louder and softer here and there as the Ferris wheel descended and rose. Mondo and Chihiro sat in one of the seats, admiring the views as they looped around slowly until they stop relatively close to the top.

Mondo smiled pleasantly, "I told you we'd get a better view." He points at another attraction on the ground, "Look, there's Taka."

Chihiro followed Mondo's direction. It appeared as though Kiyotaka had found his mirror maze. Chihiro watched as the tiny Kiyotaka eventually disappeared into the maze, right behind Kyoko, as an equally tiny Makoto looped around the outside of the maze.

Chihiro smiled softly, "Yeah."

He continued to look down at the carnival. It was to be expected, but everything was so small. It was nice, in an odd way, to look down on the area he had grown to know so well like it was nothing more than a minitare city.

Mondo was right, though. It was really beautiful from up there.

Despite the added warmth from his petticoat, an unexpected gust of wind caused Chihiro to shiver slightly.

Wrapping his arms around himself, Chihiro passingly commented, "It's chilly up here."

It didn't stop Chihiro from admiring the sights of the carnival though. Mondo wasn't looking where he was, though. He was looking at _him._

After a moment of contemplation, Mondo mustered up the courage to put his arm around Chihiro's shoulders. The gesture took Chihiro by surprise, but when he looked at Mondo, his friend smiled at him gently.

"Is that better...?" Mondo asked, and Chihiro tried to ignore the _ping_ in his chest that was caused by the care in his voice.

He nodded abruptly, before realising with an almost deer-like alarm that he can't find it in himself to look away. There was a passing thought in the back of his mind where he simultaneously felt grateful and unappreciative of the lights surrounding them; on one hand, it allowed him to actually see his friend's beautiful eyes, but on the other, his friend would mostly definitely be able to see the way his face was heating up with every second.

Mondo held his gaze with a calm sincerity before he eventually decided to slowly move in for a kiss. Chihiro leaned into slightly too, before he suddenly tensed up and moved his face away.

"Wait," he practically whispered.

Mondo stopped immediately and waited patiently, though it was clear that worry was creeping up on him as well.

"Mondo... you know I'm not a girl now," Chihiro said softly, unable to maintain the eye contact they had before. "I know that I still look like it, but... it's different now, isn't it?"

This was clearly difficult for him. It seemed like forever ago when Chihiro told Mondo that he _wasn't_ a girl, even if it was only that year. 

He liked Mondo a lot, and he knew that when Mondo thought he was a girl, that he felt... similarly. But now...

"I don't know whether or not you think you like me because you still see me that way," Chihiro admitted. "I just..." he pauses for a moment, searching for his words, before finally managing to look at Mondo again, "I feel like I tricked you."

He didn't think he would be able to live with himself if Mondo loved him only as a girl, let alone if he _tricked_ him into feeling that way at all.

A slow, genuine smile creeped onto Mondo's face. "It's okay," he chuckled, lightheartedly. Chihiro was still unsure.  
"You're Chihiro. That's what matters," Mondo said definitively. He smiled a little wider despite himself, "And, um... in case it wasn't obvious, I really like you, Chihiro."

"I like you too, Mondo," Chihiro responded, a little breathlessly.

They smiled at each other before they both start to lean in again and followed through with their kiss. As Mondo moved to cup Chihiro's face, the latter placed a careful hand on Mondo's wrist, drawing delicate circles against the skin. Chihiro soon adjusted his hand, removing it from the wrist to the back of Mondo's  
neck, gently pulling Mondo towards him, deepening the sweet kiss. They didn't pay it any mind when the Ferris wheel started its decent downward.

* * *

Upon leaving the Ferris wheel, Mondo and Chihiro quickly made their way over to the mirror maze, arms hooked together.

Kiyotaka just made it out of the maze, followed by Kyoko, when they show up. 

Makoto went to write down the additional score (Kyoko was still one point ahead of Kiyotaka, but he was catching up fast) before he looked up and noticed them approaching. He nudged Kiyotaka lightly.

Kiyotaka looked up suddenly, before noticing them as well.

"You're here!" Kiyotaka beamed at his two friends. "How are you?"

"Really good, Taka," Chihiro smiled despite himself.

Kiyotaka might not have been good at picking up social cues, but he knew his friends _extremely_ well. "You two certainly look happy! Did something happen?"

Mondo patted Kiyotaka's on the shoulder, he too smiled despite himself, "We'll tell you all about it later. How was the maze?"

Kiyotaka quickly lit up in excitement again. "Oh, it was fantastic! It was quite difficult, but Kyoko really put her detective skills to work in there! She's the real reason I made it out of there first."

"Taka doesn't give himself nearly enough credit," Kyoko remarked from behind him. "There were a few times he had to stop me from running into a mirror like Makoto over here," she smiled slyly as Makoto let out an undignified noise.

Chihiro yawned into the back of his hand, causing Taka to shift his attention. "Are you tired, Chihiro?"

"Hm? No, 'm fine."

Mondo and Kiyotaka exchanged a knowing glance. Before Chihiro could ask what they were up to, he felt himself being lifted off the ground, making him unintentionally squeak in surprise.

"To the dorms!" Kiyotaka called out, letting out a hearty laugh as Mondo carried Chihiro.

"I'm starting to worry you two have developed some sort of nonverbal communication," Chihiro remarked, nervously smiling up at Mondo. 

Mondo grinned, "Who says we haven't?"

"Oh dear."

Makoto and Kyoko parted ways with the trio once they got into the building to go to their own dorms. When they got to Chihiro's room, Mondo placed Chihiro gently on the bed (after jokingly almost throwing him, much to Kiyotaka's dismay). After only a little convincing, Chihiro and Mondo got Kiyotaka to stay back a bit and hang out a little before curfew officially started. They got him to talk more about the mirror maze, they sort of awkwardly danced around what happened while he was doing that, and they discussed what their peers were doing at the carnival (or what they thought they were doing/would do, if they didn't see them at all). 

Kiyotaka eventually excused himself (because as much as he loved his friends, they all knew he wouldn't be caught dead past curfew). Mondo hung back for a little longer, and he and Chihiro fell back into the comfortable familiarity of each other.

Overall, a good end to a nice day.

**Author's Note:**

> If you made it this far, thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed this, it would mean a lot to me if you left a kudos! Comments are much appreciated, but please keep it positive/constructive! Have a nice day!


End file.
